


A Second Chance?

by SilverMoonSky



Series: Adrinette April 2020 [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Is Not Okay, Adrien likes marinette, Adrinette April 2020, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Gen, Light Angst, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Marinette also likes Adrien, Second Chance, Snake Adrien Agreste | Aspik, but Chat Noir is working with Hawk Moth so he doesn't like Ladybug, he still agrees to be Aspik anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23519380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: When Ladybug chooses Aspik to fight beside her, he ends up learning her secret identity during one of his second chances, making him rethink all of the things he'd said and done to her as Chat Noir.Written for Day 6: Aspik and Marinette for Adrinette April.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Adrinette April 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685854
Comments: 18
Kudos: 243





	A Second Chance?

**Author's Note:**

> This is an enemy AU, where Chat Noir works with Hawk Moth, but Aspik agrees to fight with Ladybug because he's curious. Also to be clear, Adrien doesn't have any sort of feelings towards Ladybug--he likes Marinette, and Marinette likes him too (but obviously they're oblivious idiots, so they each have no idea :P ). This is probably my new favorite Adrinette April oneshot so far :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“I’m about to detransform,” Ladybug said, a hand flying to her earrings. She had only one spot left. “I don’t think I’ll have time to fetch your Miraculous right after, so I’ll come and get it later if that’s okay? I trust you to keep it safe.”

He wanted to laugh at the irony of that statement--he should be the last person she ever trusts--but Aspik merely nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine Ladybug,” he said. Seeing as he’d already recharged during the battle and hadn’t used his second chance again, he didn’t see why he couldn’t stay out for a little longer before his father would need him.

“If you want you can go back home, and I’ll get it from there.”

Aspik shook his head. “It’s fine, I’m not needed so soon at home anyways.” He paused, hesitating, before saying, “I’m just really glad I got a chance to fight by your side today.”

Although he didn’t realize it, a blush crept tentatively across Ladybug’s cheeks beneath her mask. “I’m really glad too,” she murmured, looking shyly at him. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later,” he echoed as the spotted superheroine swung away to detransform.

Aspik stood at the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral, glancing down at the Snake Miraculous that rested on his wrist. The feeling of this Miraculous felt much different than the Cat Miraculous did--while the energy surrounding him while wielding the powers of destruction was chaotic, this aura felt more. . . . tranquil, yet at the same time ominous. Almost as if he was already supposed to know what would come of him if ever he abused these powers.

Fighting by Ladybug’s side had been an interesting experience. Usually he only ever fought against her, which was why it had made fighting with her quite easy. He knew her every move, after all. From her fighting style to her defensive stances to how she maintained her backup, Chat Noir was an expert at keeping tabs on the superheroine. How could he not be? With his father constantly breathing down his back to keep Ladybug in check, he had to do as much as he could while he was Chat in order to figure out a way to get her Miraculous as soon as possible. It was the only way he could end this charade and get his mother back.

And yet. . . . he’d  _ chosen  _ to be Aspik. When Ladybug had come up to Adrien asking if he was willing to help her, he’d agreed. He let himself fight beside her, take orders from her, and work his hardest to defeat the akuma that should’ve been his  _ ally _ . At that moment, he hadn’t seen Ladybug as his enemy--he’d seen her as his partner. And although he had the chance of easily betraying her and stealing her Miraculous, he didn’t.

_ Why? _

At first, curiosity had been the only part of it. Aspik had been curious to see what fighting with his arch-enemy would be like. Besides, if he ended up gaining Ladybug’s trust and stealing her Miraculous, that was just a bonus. His father would be proud, and they could finally bring his mother back.

But the real reason came afterwards, in the middle of battle. After failing yet again, Aspik had turned the bracelet, yelling out, “second chance!”

“. . . .and we need to go through that alleyway--”

“No, that’s not going to work,” Aspik interrupted Ladybug for the 48th time. “We need to go this way.” He grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the Arc de Triomphe. “We need to be out in the open for this to work. Secretkeeper is expecting us to ambush her, so we’ll need to try something else.”

“How many times has it been?” Ladybug asked, following close behind him as they crept towards the monument.

“This is the 48th, but hopefully it’ll be the last,” Aspik replied. He kept one hand close to his Miraculous. “I’ll stay back so I can rewind if I need to. Secretkeeper should come in from that side.” He pointed to the left.

Ladybug nodded. “Okay, I can work with that.” The duo turned another corner, and Aspik turned to face her. For a heartbeat, his breath caught in his throat as their eyes met. Her eyes reminded him of someone, someone he cared about deeply. . . .

“Aspik?” Ladybug asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head to get rid of the thought. “Yeah, I’m fine. We’re here. Now what you have to do is--”

Aspik never got to finish the sentence. At that moment, he felt himself being roughly yanked backwards before colliding with a wall over forty feet away. Aspik groaned, rubbing his head. He blinked dazedly, his vision coming back to him just in time to see Secretkeeper fire a beam at Ladybug.

“No!” He shouted, getting up on his feet, but it was too late. Ladybug was already under the akuma’s spell. Her eyes were dull as she looked up into the akuma’s eyes.

“Little miss Ladybug,” Secretkeeper cooed, smiling menacingly at her. Hawk Moth’s butterfly symbol flitted briefly across her face before it disappeared. Aspik brought his hand towards his Miraculous, ready to send them back in time. “Tell me darling, what’s your real name?”

Aspik froze. He stopped his hand from moving towards the bracelet. Maybe. . . . maybe this was the right moment. Perhaps now was the time he could finally get Ladybug’s Miraculous. Secretkeeper would reveal her identity to him, and then all he had to do was take the Miraculous, present it to his father, and then they could help his mother. . . .

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Ladybug said, monotonously. “My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

_ Wait. . . . what? _ Aspik stumbled backwards in shock.

Nope, never mind. He couldn’t do this. There was no way he could wait this out. “Second chance!” He croaked, twisting the bracelet.

“. . . .and we need to go through that alleyway. . . .” Ladybug continued to talk for the 49th time, but he wasn’t listening. Instead, Aspik studied her carefully.

Her pigtails, her bluebell eyes, her compassion, braveness, creativeness, kindness. . . . it was so  _ obvious. _ Marinette--the love of his life--was Ladybug. Of course she was Ladybug. Of course she was a superheroine. Of course Aspik just had to fall in love with the one person he could never,  _ ever _ be with.

His mind snapped back into the present moment, and he sighed. There was no point in mulling that over. Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. He couldn’t change that. What did bother him, however, was the amount of times he must have hurt Marinette as Chat Noir. How many times had she gone home bruised from a battle? How many times had she taken to heart all the hurtful things Chat Noir must’ve said to her?

He hurt her. He hurt  _ Ladybug _ .  _ Ladybug _ , who had been nothing but an obstacle in his mind. When she was faceless, he had no problem fighting her. But now? How could he fight her knowing Marinette lay beneath the mask? How could he fight her knowing that for the past couple of years, Marinette had been the one he’d been hurting?

She would  _ never _ forgive him for that. He would never forgive  _ himself  _ for that.

He stared at Marinette’s balcony from where he was perched on the Notre Dame Cathedral. Emotion after emotion surged through him; he could barely make them out, however, there was one feeling that particularly stood out to him: remorse.

_ I’m so sorry. _

If only he could have a second chance. He stared down at the Miraculous on his wrist, desperately wishing he could turn back time and change his actions. To be a little nicer, a little kinder, to have a little more sympathy when it came to fighting Ladybug. But it didn’t work that way. No second chance would ever fix the damage he’d done.

Instead he could only apologize over and over again, and hope that someday, when Marinette figured it out, she would have the heart to forgive him.

**Author's Note:**

> 6/7 EDIT: I've written another oneshot expanding this universe! I definitely plan to turn this AU into a full fic sooner or later, but until then, you can read [Hesitation is Deadly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24600697) :)


End file.
